Hopper-type bin



Filed Dc. '2 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. E. BALES HOPPER TYPE BIN June 6, 1944.

Filed Dec. 2, 1940 2 ShetsSheet 2 Patented June 6, 1944 UNlIED S TATES PATENT OFFICE HOPPR-TYPE IN r James E. Bales; Aurora, Iil., assigner to Lyon Metal Products; Incbiporated, Alirora,- 111., a corporation of minois ApplicationDeteifiber 2, 1940, Serial No. 368,115

9 ClaimS. Cl. 211-135) This invention relates to sheet mtal articles.-

and more particularly to a bin provided with pon- Venient means for display, use or assembly,

Among the objects of the present invention is the provision of a bin of the foregoing characzter,

wherein means is provided for facilitating the re.

plenishment of the individual bins; to provicle a device wherein the individual bins may befilled or replenished from the top of the bin, Whereas the articles on display in each bin are observable and accessible from the side or front wall of the bin.

Yet anoth r object of the invention resides in providin a replenishing means for a series of dis play bine, wherein the replenishment occurs so as to generally cause the articles that have ben in the bin for some time, to be used before the 'replenished articles are used; in short, to provide a construction wherein the fiow of replenishrnent of articles in each bin tend; to move those articles of the bin; and wherein all of th bins mabe simultaneously and/or individuatlly refilled frein a remote portion of the bin, preferably the top-.1

These and other objects of the invention Will be apparent from a perusal of the specification, Wleh taken in connection with the accprnpanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a hopper bin. 7

Figure 2 is a vertical, cross-sectional view takn along the line 2-2 of Figure 6.

Figure 3 is a plan, setztional view takexi aiQng the line 33 of Figure 6.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the upper rear portion, showing the. hinge.nd

cover. V A

Figure 5 is a ragmentary, cross-sectionalieW taken on the line 55 of Figurez. V A

Figure 6 is a vertical, cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-45 of Figure 2.

perspective view of the i1riioroved Figure 7 shows a view of thefront chiit Figure 8 is a view of the second partitionatl chute.

that

.l-ike structure composed of a metal.back land two sides 4 and 6, which are bent at right angles to form fianges, and which are welded to the rear walls as at 9. Inaddition, there is a front hercinafter to be described, and a cover hinged to the back as shown morespecifically in Figures 4 and 5. In,this connection it willbe seen that the back 2 extends;upwardly at the top and is flanged inwardly} as at I i to .provide a reinforcement.

There is formed on the lower edges ofthe sides 4 and 6 a pair of intu rned fianges 'l, which help to form a more rigid side Wall. To the rear of the upper edge of the back 2, fastened by means of bolts l I, isa strip l2, vvhich extends across the back as shown in these figures. The upper edge of this strip is curled back to provide a bearing for the hinge pin 13. The other portion of the hinge is formed by a strip l 6 that is welded to the inner face of a fiange l8 of the cover 20.

In addition, the rear fiange l8 of the cover is provided with an arcuate portion 22 which forms a cover portion for the upper portion of the hinge, and also provides a shou lder 24, Which, in cooperation with the upper edge of the strip l2, forms a stop to 1irhit the backward swing 'of the cover, as shown in dottd fines. The fiange I0 of the cover extends along the tvvo sides and along the front of the cover 20..

,The boxlike structure formed of a back and the two sides is provided With a plurality of external,

,spaced apart partitions, whih not only form a series of separat e bins, but also'provide a front for the boxlike structure, and; provide, as well, a relatively large opening at vvhich all of the indi- Vidual bins open, so that the contents thereof are .readily accessible andobservable from the front of tl ie boxlike structure, and, in addition, are fillable from the top of the boxlikestructure. In short, a honeycomb series of'display or sales bins is provided, Which open on the front of the boxlike structure, while at the same time a honeycomb series of filier openings is provided at the top face of the boxlike structure, each filler open- .ing commr;icating w ith its ownindividual bin, so that, the individual bins are accessible from the the two sides are flanged as at 34 and 36. The same are preferably provided with beveled edges as at 38 and 40 and are aperturedas at 42. In addition, the chute section 30 is flanged on the inside face inwardly and upwardly as at 44 for strength, and are provided with side fianges 46 and 48, which latter are apertured as at 50 and 52.

This front chuteportioh is. aflixed in position between the side walls '4 and 6.1i; the manner illustrated in Figure 6, being welded at the top of each of the .fianges 34 and 36, as shown at 54,

and being heldin position by means of bolts,

rivets, Or self-tapping screws at 56, which bolts' and self-tapping screws pass through the openings 42, 50, and52. The upper fiange 32 of the chute piece 26 thus forms a front edge section of the bin proper. By reference to Figures 1 and 7, it will be appreciatedthat there is a plurality of these front chute pieces; in Figure 1 there are four. They extend horizontally across the boxlike structure and 'are divided by a plurality of -sheet metal partitions58, 60, and 62, which *areformedWith a fiange 63 on their rear edges, and which, in turn, is welded tothe rear wall 2 as at 65. In short, the first front chute section will bewelded and bolted to the end piece 4 and ---to the partition 56.; The second front chute section will be welded andbolted to the two adjacent partitions 58- and 60, and so on across the boxlike structure; It will thus beseen that the outer face of the section 26 provides a series of vertical front walls for the completed bin, and

-that the chute section provides an internal,

rearwardly and downwardly inclinedchute for directing articles into the upper series of chutes,

as hereinafter described.

In the same manner the next portion is formed, as shown in Figures 6 and 8. This comprises a plurality of relatively long and narrow sheet metal blanks or stampings 64 bent as at 66, and also as at' 68, to provide an intermediatefiat section 10 and a front section 12. The top 'of the section 64 is flanged over for strength and finish as at 14, and the opposite end of the section '12 is fianged over for strength and finish as at 16; and each section 64, 10, and 12 is provided with a pair of parallel lateral fianges 18, 80, and 82, respectively, and these fianges are formed with registering pairs of openings 84, through which bolts or self-tapping screws 85 pass through the flanges 18 and into the end piece 4 or the adjacent partitions58, depending upon which one of these chute pieces is being considered. Thetop and bottom flange portion 18 and 82 'are welded to the adjacent side wal] portions or partition portions as at 86 and 88, respectively. v 7

The third chute portion, 'shown in Figure 9, also comprises a:section or blank somewhat of the general shape of the second mentioned blank shown in Figure 8, but is relatively longer. This section is shown in Figure 9-and comprises a first vided with side fianges 94 and 96. There is 'an integrally formed scondsection 98, which isbent at an angle from the first section 90 as at 100, and this section is provided with parallel side fianges 102. A third or front section 104 is bent angularly at 106, and is provided with afront end 108 -fianged over on itself for strength, finish and rigidity, and is provided with side flanges 110. This chute sectionis welded as at 112, 114, 116; and 118, and is bolted or screwed as at 120 into the side vertical partitions, or to the end partitions 4 and 6,35 the case'may be.

or second chute likewise, provided with an'additiorial front section 134 and two side fianges 136 and 138, and

is provided with an additional or front vertical section 140, which is flanged rearwardly and reentrantly as at 142 and with two lateral side flanges 144 and 146. This bottom chute section is, likeWise, welded at 148 and 150 to the side walls, hereinbefore described, and is bolted or secured by self-tapping screws as at 152 and 154 to the hereinbefore mentioned vertical partition or side walls of the cabinet or boxlike structure hereinbefore described.

The front section 140 provides a series of horizontally disposed, adjacent lower front walls for the boxlike structure of the bin between the interposed end walls 4 and 6 and the intervening adjacent, spaced apart, vertical partitions 58 to 62, inclusive. It will be noted that betweenthe front portions 26 and 140 there is provided a series Of rectangular openings formed by the front edges 16 and 108 and the bent edge 156 of a lowermost chute section, which edges and bent portions lie inthe front plane of the chute portions 26 and 140, thereby providing a front face for the bin arranged in honeycomb fashion.

It willalsobe noticed thatby reason of the arrangement of the chute portions 26, 64 and and the intervening partitions 58, 60, and 62, in

"cooperatien with the side walls 4 and 6, the top ;islikewise provided in horreycomb fashion with a series of boxlike openings, and each one of these boxlike openings acts as a filling mouth for its own particular chute, since the arrangement of the partition members 58 to 62 and these chute sections provide a series of continuons compartments, each one of which opens at the topand opens on the front face of the boxlike bin or cabinet, so that, when material is dumped into a particular filling opening, as shown in dotted fines in Figure 1, the contents thereof will descendby gravit, and will be directed by the partition members shown in Figures 6 tol0, in-

clusive, to a particular bin.

It will be noted that the partition members shown in Figures 8, 9, and 10 are shaped so as to. provide a series of horizontallyjdisposed troughs or bins having oppositcly inclined walls separated by the end:walls and the vertical partitions 58to 62, inclusive, by which arrangement ,the contents of each hopper is readily accessible and viewable from the front of the boxlike structure. By this arrangement a compact, rigiddisplay or sales assembly, hopperlike bin is provided having a series of individual hoppers or bin s,

each of which;ca receive and hold a difer erit type of assembly, if desired, and ina riianner suchthat each bin may be readily refilld or replenished from the top of the boxlike 'stru'cture Withoflt Otherwise disturbing the contents of.the

bin, and in such a manner that during the act of refillirig each'bin, the material as it fiQWS in will tend to push forwardly the contents already Changes may befmade in the forni, constructhe right is hereby reserved to make allsuch changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Boxlike casing having open top and open front, a series of vertical parallel partitions dispsed in spaced relation therein, a series of sheet metal members, each comprising a vertical wall and a rearwardl, downwardly inclined wall, each member being mounted at the top of theiront of the casing between adjacent partitions so that each such vertical wall forme an upper vertical portion of a front wall of the casing and the rearwardly, downwardly inclined wall forms a commodity defiecticn, a second series of sheet metal members, each such member comprising a relatively long dividing wall member 'mounted between adjacent vertical partitions to the rear of and spaced from the corresponding front member, saidrelatively long dividing wall member extending vertically but slightly inclined downwardly and rearwardly from top to bottom, the bottom portion thereof being bent forwardly yet slightly downwardly and then forwardly and slightly upwardly to form a sbstantially V- shaped trough with the forward edge thereof fixed substantially at the front open edge of the casing, and a second series of partition members disposed to the rear of and in spaced relation from said first mentioned series of m'embers, the.

upper portions of said last named 'members being spaced from the vertical rear wall of the casing and the bottom portions of said last named members being bent forwardly and downwardly and upwardly in spaced parallelism with the corresponding portions of said first mentioned series of members and a third partition member.

2. In a device of the class described in combination with an upper or vertical side wall and a vertical back wall, a series of interposd parti- 4 tions fornied of sheet material and providing a tier cf vertically spaced hoppers between said vertical side walls, each hopper opening at the top of the boxlike structure to provide a filler opening and opening at the front of the boxlike structure to provide a'display and accessibility opening, certain of said partition members being bent downwardly and forwardly and upwardly and forwardly to provide a hopperlike portion, and certain of said partition members having sections disposed in the front plane of the vertical side portions to provide spaced apart upper and lower front walls for the structure with intervening spaced apart openings, there being an opening at the front of the structure.for each hopper, whereby the contents of the hopper may be observed, and whereby the contents thereof may be removed from each hopper.

3. In a device of the class described in combination With a vertical sheet metal back and a pair of vertical sheet metal side walls, a bottom trough formed oi sheet metal comprising a relatively fiat section having a rear flange secured to the inner bottom portion of the vertical back wall having fiange portions secured to the bottom portion of the side walls, said fiat portion being inclined from said rear wall forwardly and downwardly to substantially the bottom edge of said side walls, and then upwardly to the front edge of said side walls, and then being bent downwardly in the plane of the front edge of said side walls to the bottom edge of said side walls, whereby to form a bottom hopper between said side walls and a plurality of additional sheet mtal partitions, each comprising a rlatiVe1 long section extending in spaced relation from the top edge of said side walls downwardly and in slightly inclined direction in spaced relation between said vertical side walls and spaced from the rear wall, the bottom portion of said downwardly extending section being then behtiorwardly and downwardly toward the front *of said'sde walls, and then upwardly and s'ubstantially to the front edge of said side walls to provide additional vertically superimposed hoppers and an additional hopper section comprising a vertical sheet metal blank disposed substantially in the plane of the front edge of thesid walls with its top disposed at the top edge of said walls, said last mentioned section having an inwardly and downwardly bent section integral thereWith to provide a chute, and means for fixing said section in position, and a top hinged to the rear wall and adapted to overliethe top edges of said partition members;

4. A device as described in claim 3, 'further characterized in that the partition members described are disposed between a plurality of other partitions extending vertically in spaced relation from each other and between and from the twoside walls of the' structure, whereby to provide a series of horizohtally extending and vertically extending hoppers of the character described.

5. In a device of the class described in com bination with a boxlike structure comprising side walls and a back wall, said back wall inclilding a first hinge portion along its upper edge, a top for said structure comprising a rear flange, a second hinge portion afiixed to the inner side of said fiange, said fiange having on its lower edge an arcuate skirt adapted to overlie the hing portions wheri assembled, the lower edge of "said flange cooperating with the second hinge portion to provide a stop to limit the outward swing of the top.

' "6. A display and spply cabinetcomprising a boxlike housing having upstariding side and rear walls, access to the interior being provided atthe top, upstanding partition means generally parallel with the rear wall providing Vrtiall extending compartments opening at their upper extremities adjacent the top of said ho'using, said partition means providing a forwardly and downwardly extending section adjacent the lower eXtrernity thereof irrging'at its margin With a forwardly and upwardly extending section terminating in a free marginal extremity providing a bin or trough cf substantial depth, said forwardly extending section of said partition means being arranged in vertically spaced relation to a member including a forwardly and downwardly extending section merging at its forward margin With a forwardly and upwardly extending section, terminating in a free marginal extremity providing another bin or trough of substantial depth, said member being located adjacent the bottom of the housing and forming a bin'ior a compartment located at the rear of said housing, said partition means having said merging margin disposed above and rearwardly of the forward free marginal extremity of the member immediately therebelow. and said cabinet having a front upper wall.porticn extending downwardly to a point spaced above the forward free marginal extremity of the partition means next therebelow.

7. A display and supply cabinet comprising a boxlike housing having upstanding side and rear 

